ALSTOM, the TGV manufacturer, joins the East European TGV
Enterprise Club

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Today, the Eastern TGV is heir to of a three-generation
family :


- 1981 : the first generation of TGVs, running between
Paris and south-eastern France, was commissioned. This
generation got a new lease of life in 2001 with the
commissioning of the French Mediterranean high-speed line.
Technical enhancements allowed these trains, originally
designed to run at 260 km/h, to travel at speeds of up to 300
km/h.


- 1990 : the second generation Atlantic TGV broke the
world railway speed record of 513.5 km/h, a record that remains
unbeaten today.


- 1996 : the third generation, with the Duplex TGV,
tripled passenger capacity per trainset, carrying up to 1,200
passengers, the equivalent of two Boeing 747s. The success of
this model is such that 110 trainsets are scheduled to be in
service by 2010.

The industry reference in very high-speed, ALSTOM trains are
the only ones to :


- Run at 300 km/h in commercial service,


- Run in 9 countries in Europe (Belgium, France, Germany,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom)
and Asia (South Korea),


- Have carried over 1 billion passengers in 25 years of
operation, and travelled 1,5 billion kilometres.

The East European TGV, the latest single-decker TGV ordered
by the SNCF in January 2003, will confirm ALSTOM’s
technological advances across Europe from summer 2007.

At the Partnership signature with the SNCF, Thierry Best,
Director of ALSTOM Transport France commented,
"We are delighted that this agreement will continue the
long tradition of partnership between SNCF and ALSTOM. As
manufacturer of the TGV and leader in the very high-speed train
market for the last 25 years, we are proud to take this new
step to further develop the TGV in France and in Europe. The
latest generation of TGV motor units will enable SNCF customers
to travel safely, comfortably and punctually at even faster
speeds."

Press contacts:

Clotilde Provost 


Tel : + 33 (0)1 41 66 91 43

clotilde.provost@transport.alstom.com  

Eric Lenoir


Tel : + 33 (0)1 41 66 98 74

eric.lenoir@transport.alstom.com